


Right Here Waiting

by casistooadorableandithurts



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 13x07, Castiel Loves Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Coda, Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, Episode: s13e07 War of the Worlds, First Kiss, M/M, Supernatural Coda, Tumblr Prompt, i saw a post on tumblr that matched the coda i wanted to write so here we are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 08:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12837102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casistooadorableandithurts/pseuds/casistooadorableandithurts
Summary: It’s been many, many days since Cas last saw Dean, and his whole body sags when their eyes meet. Dean has a cut on his forehead, and his nose is bleeding, but there’s fire in his eyes and his whole body is visibly thrumming with the energy of the fight. He takes the corridor in three long strides, and comes to a stop right in front of Cas, right in his personal space, if it weren’t for the damn bars.





	Right Here Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!  
> I've been wanting to write a coda about Dean saving Cas from Hell for a couple of days, then after seeing a prompt on Tumblr that inspired me I decided to mix the two things and this is what came out!  
> Excuse any mistakes, I'll come back and fix them tomorrow but I wanted to get this up as soon as possible as I'm feeling inspired. I've had a rough couple of weeks and needed the distraction.  
> Thanks so much for reading, and kudos/comments are always appreciated and make me really happy :D

Cas has lost count of how many days he’s spent trapped in that cell. Many, many days of Lucifer rambling in the cell next to him, of hearing his own voice in the distance, talking to Dean, deceiving him. Cas wishes there was something he could do, something that would let Dean understand that the voice answering the phone doesn’t really belong to him, and tries to not think about the fact that maybe Dean doesn’t know him well enough to know, well enough to understand something is wrong. Cas also knows, though, that if Dean knew where he was, he would very likely take some stupid risk and try to save him, so a small part of him is grateful that Dean doesn’t know and won’t put his life at risk by bathing into hell as if he owned the place. 

Cas has lost count of how many days he’s spent in that cell, when he hears long, banging noises that feel out of place in the eerie quiet of the dungeons. In between the crashes, he hears a too-familiar voice shouting.

“Dean, WAIT!” Then more noise.

He’s vaguely aware of Lucifer mentioning “his boyfriend” and “damsel in distress” but all of Cas’s senses have honed into the fight he can hear in the distance, knowing that Dean is out there doing something reckless and stupid into which Sam also got dragged. He only gives himself a second to feel the relief the Winchesters being here to save him brings, before he starts struggling against the bars, trying to find a weak point, anything that he can use to help the Winchesters or tell them to run before Asmodeus finds them. 

Another crash, then silence. Cas can’t take it anymore, but he’s worried his shouting could distract the Winchesters from their fight, so he keeps quiet and tries to assess why everything fell quiet.

Then Sam, bellowing his brother’s name. A crash. 

“Where is he?” Finally, Dean’s voice comes through, repeating the same question louder and louder until the sound is cut off. 

“DEAN!” It takes Cas a moment to realise it was his own voice that rang through the air, but it’s too late now. From the distance, he hears Dean say his name, but it sounds strained, choked. No, no, no, no. Asmodeus must be there. Silence. More silence. Then a bang and all the noise picks up again violently. Cas hears a crash, someone flung across the room. Two bangs, someone shooting. Asmodeus yelling.

Sam telling Dean to “go, find Cas, NOW DEAN!” More shots are being fired, but as soon as Dean steps in Cas’s line of sight they all fade away. It’s been many, many days since Cas last saw Dean, and his whole body sags when their eyes meet. Dean has a cut on his forehead, and his nose is bleeding, but there’s fire in his eyes and his whole body is visibly thrumming with the energy of the fight. He takes the corridor in three long strides and comes to a stop right in front of Cas, right in his personal space, if it weren’t for the damn bars.

Though the battle isn’t over, and Cas doesn’t know if there’s a way of opening the cell, Dean’s smile is soft, it reaches his eyes, and the whispered “Hey, Cas” is all the angel needed to hear to find his fighting spirit.

That’s when Cas notices that for the first time in a while, Lucifer is silent. He starts to ask Dean what he can see in the other cell, when the hunter pulls out a key from his pocket, smirking at Cas. The question dies on his tongue and is replaced by a half-formed sentence of “How...” that doesn’t come out right, but Dean’s movements have gained urgency and it doesn’t look like Cas will get an answer.

The gate opens, and Dean takes Cas into his arms, no matter where they are. It’s a brief thing, just enough for both of them to feel the comfort of the other and bask in the realness of the moment, before Dean is grabbing Cas by his trenchcoat’s sleeve and dragging him away, barely glancing at Lucifer. Only then does the devil start shouting again, asking them to let him go, he can still help them. Dean keeps walking, and so does Cas.

When they get to the throne room, Cas finds himself surprised once again. Jack is there, eyes glowing gold and hand extended, keeping Asmodeus in place, almost choking him. Sam is standing tall and proud next to him, bloodied but looking okay nonetheless. Dean’s hold on Cas’s sleeve tightens, and with his other hand he reaches out to grab Sam’s shoulder. 

Jack drops his hand, but his eyes are still glowing. 

“I told you not to hurt my friends” is all he says, before Sam touches his arm and the ground disappears under Cas’s feet. Despite how brief it is, it’s the first time Cas has flown in years, and it’s bittersweet. When they land in front of the bunker, Cas launches himself at Jack and holds him in his arms, grateful and sad. Next comes Sam, that holds Cas tightly in his arms and tells him how good it is to see him. 

By the time they’re all back in the bunker, Jack has already explained how he heard whispers in the wind about Cas being captured, which made him return straight to the bunker despite his reluctance. There, he was met with a hug from Sam and a desperate Dean, that was apparently able to tell something was wrong with Cas’s phone calls but didn’t know how to prove it or figure out what was exactly was happening. It’s a whirlwind of questions and answers, Jack promising to stay for a while and Sam leading him towards the bedrooms. 

The moment they’re out of the room, Dean whirls towards him. 

“What the hell were you thinking, man? Lucifer?!” 

Cas jumps at the sudden change of tone but holds his ground.

“I was going to tell you, Dean. When you called, that’s why I wanted to see you. I promised I wouldn’t keep secrets anymore.” 

Dean deflates and sags into the nearest chair. 

“Dammit, Cas, I was worried sick.” The anger is gone, and Dean is speaking in soft, hushed tones that make Cas’s heart ache. 

“I just got you back. You stayed for two days then you were gone, again. It’s been three weeks. Do you know how useless I felt, knowing something was wrong but not being able to do anything about it? And if it hadn’t been for Jack, who knows if I ever would’ve found you.” Cas wants to reach out, hold Dean’s hand, reassure him, but he knows the man sitting in front of him too well, knows that one wrong move could scare him away, and Cas wants, selfishly, and maybe cruelly, to hear the proof of Dean’s affection for him, to know that the hunter cares, even if it will never be the same affection he harbours for Dean. 

“It’s the second time in a month that Jack saves you while I sit by and watch. And every time you come back you always disappear, and I’m left worrying and helpless.”

Dean’s eyes meet Cas’s, and the hunter’s anger seems to return slowly. 

“ I was a wreck, Cas. Did Sam tell you that?” Dean is up on his feet again, and Cas rises too, ignoring the voice that tells him to not touch the hunter, to give him space. 

“Did he tell you that I killed myself for a case, and Billie knew straight away that I wanted to die, I wanted to stay dead? That’s how I handled your fucking death Cas, and...” Dean is looking at Cas again, and something in the angel’s eyes seems to prompt him to shut up. 

“You did what?” Cas hears himself whisper, old angelic fury coming to a head with the desperation he feels in knowing the man he loves wanted to die. “You wanted what?”

Dean takes a step back, almost cowering, then seems to think better about it and stands tall, defiant. 

“You heard me.” 

“Why?” is all Cas can say, hope and pain waging a losing battle in his chest. 

“You know why.” Dean looks uncertain now, and Cas steps closer, carefully, keeping his hands down but his gaze locked on Dean. 

He wants to believe it, that the reason why Dean was ready to follow him into the Empty is the same reason Cas offered to go with him when Dean was going to sacrifice himself to kill Amara, that just as Cas knew living without Dean would kill him Dean knew that living without Cas...

No, he refuses to go there, even in his mind. He couldn’t be selfish about something so serious. Dean had also lost Mary, and that was also a big part of his grief. It wasn’t all about Cas, and it never would be. 

 

“I know who you love, what you fear.” The Empty’s voice comes unbidden into his mind, and Cas lets it. After being on earth for so long, he has discovered that it is better to always carry the burden of the knowledge that Dean’s feelings will never match his own than to hope, even for a few brief moments that Dean might love him only to then be crushed all over again. 

“No, I don’t,” he tells Dean, and turns away. He doesn’t want to see whatever is showing in Dean’s eyes, so he turns, like the coward he is. Dean is having none of it though, and finally establishes a single, point of contact, as warm and solid as he always is. The hunter grabs Cas’s arm and spins him around, and the angel lets him, weak and malleable as Dean makes him. 

“Are you serious?” The hunter mutters, eyes boring into the angel’s. 

“I’ve tried telling you in all the ways I know. I offered you a home, a family, I told you I fucking needed you, not us, not Sammy and I, just me. I needed you, I need you. No, I want you to be here. I made you a fucking mixtape, but that’s still not enough? All I wanted was for you to stay here, to be with me, to show me you understood and were happy to be here. You know what? Fuck you, Cas. Fuck you for never realising how in love with you I am, how much I want you to be here. And I’m sorry if I didn’t make it clear enough, I’m sorry if I should’ve told you, but you know me, you understand me like no one else and I hoped it would be enough. I was obviously wrong.”

Cas is frozen in place, mind slowing to a halt while it tries to process what Dean’s outburst is trying to convey. Then it’s too late, the hunter is turning and storming out of the room, not even glancing back at the frozen angel. 

“What did you say?” is all Cas can say, mind still not working and heart slamming in his chest. Dean stops but doesn’t turn. 

“You heard me.” 

“Dean” Cas is moving closer now, feet unconsciously bringing him closer to the hunter.

“Don’t make me say it again, Cas.” Dean sounds annoyed, but Cas can hear the pleading underneath the snark.

“I’m not going to repeat it,” he adds, “and if I made everything up in my mind and you don’t feel the same, let’s pretend this conversation never happened and moved on. But you needed to know.”

“What show have you been watching?” is all Cas can say, an echo of an old conversation, two beers, a bar, a cupid.

“Stop quoting me to me, sunshine.” Cas hears the smile in Dean’s voice before he sees it, and he only has time to smile back slightly before Dean is in his space, holding Cas’s head between his hands and pressing their lips together.

Cas can’t breathe, his heart beating more and more quickly as Dean walks him back towards the wall, pinning the angel against it as he works his tongue into his mouth. Cas’s hands have a mind of their own, travelling all over Dean’s chest and shoulders while the hunter holds onto his neck to angle their heads and deepen the kiss as much as he can.

Despite being the one that doesn’t actually need to breathe, Cas is the first to break the kiss.

“I love you,” he gasps against Dean’s lips, again and again, "I love you."

Dean’s responding smile is worth a hundred deaths, a thousand years in a cell and a million battles. The hunter’s eyes have a gleam to them Cas had never seen, and all he can do is drag Dean’s head down so he can kiss him once again.

 


End file.
